Starting the day with back to back Am classes, where all the classes came together and had a shopping spree hosted by the intermediate class. Products ranged from mystery milk to origami flowers with many in between. This excitable day allowed the different classes to intertwine through productive and fun activities as well as learn common Japanese shopping phrases. We then embarked on a sushi making journey hosted by Rie-Sensei and the cooking han (group). Every student had the opportunity to create their own customizable sushi roll. One student even said, “I felt safe with the Sushi”. We are all excited to bring this new skill to our families at home. After creating our sushi and finishing dinner, we then headed to a joyous lecture hosted by blog han leader and our own RA, Malia Senpai. She led a discussion about fairytales and even showed us her own kamishibai, with her fun filled drawings telling traditional japanese fairy tales! We all loved it very much and wanted to eat all the knowledge up to give future generations!

…of the Governor’s Japanese Language Academy, in Order to understand the cuisine of Japan, taste new flavors, further our knowledge of Japanese language and culture, prepare our scripts for Oshibai (play), adorn our hallways with traditional Japanese paraphernalia for Tanabata (star festival), and secure the Blessings of Japan to ourselves and our community, do ordain and establish today’s blog for the United States of America.

Today we got our par-TEA started with Oshibai (play) prep! We showed off our creativi-TEA through working together to create our scripts. One student even exclaimed how excited they were to show off the play to their parents, and even mentioned how imaginative they felt as they were writing their script. After afternoon classes we had the opportuni-TEA to attend a short lecture led by Siam-Senpai about the intricacies and history of the 茶の湯 (Traditional Japanese tea ceremony). We then were able to attend an actual Tea Ceremony led by Tea Master, Rie-Sensei. “It left me feeling relaxed and in tune with myself,” said one student. We then were tasked with making decorations and practicing various dances for Tanabata. We have such little time, but so matcha to brew!

Today was a day for us, the students. We spent lots of time preparing for the exciting events to come; such as tanabata, a traditional summer festival celebrated on July 7th, and the chiri group project, where the students research their chihou (regions of Japan). In order to prepare for tanabata, we learned a second dance to add to our collection, taught by the tanabata han (group). We also worked together to create origami and paper lanterns. In our respective chihous we each collaborated, discussed, and researched our parts for our future presentation. We were able to make a lot of progress and it felt super rewarding to add more to our slideshows!

Starting off the day strong with rajio taiso(morning stretches), we had an energizing breakfast that led into our AM language class. We then had our guest lecture about Japanese religions and culture presented by Dr. Timothy Brown. This lecture taught us all about the practices and customs that surround Japanese life. We then headed to lunch that steered into origami butterflies led by our very own origami master, Kyle Sensei. While creating our origami butterflies we were ushered out in groups to view woodblock paintings of traditional Japanese art. We even had the chance to vote for our favorite art pieces! After our delicious dinner, the staff surprised us with another himitsu (surprise) of a fan favorite Studio Ghibli movie, Spirited Away!! During the middle of the movie we were gifted by Rie and Sana Sensei with onigiri at the same moment that the main character, Chihiro, was eating hers! This fun filled night ended in the best possible way ever with the surprise movie and a great night's rest!

After a long week of preparation, the day has finally arrived for us to begin the jocular Undoukai celebration (sports festival). Going through an extensive list of games prepared for us by the Undoukai-han led by Siam-Senpai, we had the joy of participating in an array of team-based games, such as Sumo Ball, Pickleball, Tape Ball, a relay race, Sharks and Minnows (with a twist), and Capture the Flag. We had such a blast playing games, cheering on our teammates, and creating more memories with everyone. While Team Red won the Spirit Award, Team White took home the Undoukai Trophy as the competition's winners! To rest our tired bodies, we worked our minds during Lauren C. Bell’s comparative government lecture and our very own Siam-Senpai’s Japanese Music lecture!

After a morning of free time due to religious practices acknowledged at the academy, we feasted on a hearty lunch. Followed by a PM class where we then had the opportunity to create our unique Uchiwa (fans) that were much needed in the summer heat at the academy. Students also connected a location map to better their relations to people at the academy to find commonalities through the geographical location from which they came. In the evening we were then surprised by the appearance of musical guests that taught every student individually how to play the Koto (a string instrument used in traditional japanese music). Each of us had the chance to learn directly from Miki-Sensei and Tadao-Sensei, and it was a really fun and memorable experience for everyone!

After completing a combined language class where we studied Japanese culture and games, we had lunch to fuel us for Oshibai (play) preparation and casting as well as the cooking class hosted by the cooking han (group) and Rie-Sensei. We made delicious Dorayaki (a traditional Japanese snack consisting of two pancakes and red bean paste filling), which we were exultant to share with the Latin Academy in addition to ourselves. We loved the fluffiness of the pancakes complemented by the sweet notes of the red bean paste! After completing the Dorayaki, we had the opportunity to demonstrate our artistic skills through making pancake art with the remaining batter. Further building upon the collaboration efforts, we continued working on undoukai (sports day) prep with student leaders instructing us on how to make origami dragons in preparation for Monday!